The Chronicles of a Smaller Netherworld
by 27thFloor
Summary: A collection of stories about a group of demons living in the dangerous world we know as the Netherworld.    Rated T for rather bloody encounters.


**Chronicles of a Smaller Netherworld**

Magichange I

"Nya...nya..."

A blue blur raced through the trees, dodging branches and leaping over overgrown roots. Fresh blood flowed from the creature's wounded arms and legs, painting the leafy ground below it with a striking red color. It panted with exertion, it was obvious that the creature was badly wounded and needed to rest. But it can't stop. It was to either keep running, or face a much worse fate.

It resembled a humanoid, but with slight differences. Instead of regular, pointed ears, the creature had long, fluffy ears. Her hair was long, long enough to cover her entire back and even reach down to her legs. Her hands and forearms were larger than an average demon's, and were covered with bright white fur. Her entire body was covered in fur as well, colored an unnaturally light blue. Most strikingly, however, was the long furry tail extruding from her behind.

She is a Nekomata; a demon that resembles a humanoid cat. And she is currently running for her life.

A sudden noise from behind the Nekomata forced her to look behind her. A large wolf-like monster tore out of the foliage, its fangs bared and its eyes were fiercely trained upon its prey. Rearing it's long, bladed head upwards, it let loose an eerie howl from its throat, shattering the still silence of the forest. Almost instantaneously, five more wolf-like creatures leapt out of the brambles and bushes. Joining the summoner, the six monsters growled and immediately chased after the wounded cat.

"Nya...nya..."

The Nekomata snapped her head back forward and forced her pained body to move faster. The feeling of fear assaulted the creature's nerves, sending shivers all throughout its body. With great agility, the creature bounded from the ground and landed on top of a tree branch, trying to catch its breath. She held up her two arms and began to lick the wounds, trying to staunch the blood flow, but the gashes were too deep to clean.. Disgusted, the Nekomata spat out a mouthful of blood.

The six wolves were expertly navigating the dark forest, using the trail of blood as their guide. The monsters snapped their fangs and barked ferociously as they followed the blood with frightening speed. Dirt and leaves were sent scattering as the wolves' claws struck the dirt. One wolf halted in front of a splotch of expelled blood, and glared up into the foliage. Frightened, the Nekomata froze and held her breath. The wolf bared its fangs.

The message was clear. The wolf raised it's head and let loose an ear splitting howl, summoning its pack once again. The other five wolves all leapt into action. Two wolves circled the tree, baring their fangs and growling threateningly, while the remaining four stood farther away, watching the creature's movements.

"Nya..."

There really was no way out of this, is there? The blue cat weighed her choices. If she was to jump down, she would be torn apart in an instant. If she tried to leap away from the tree, she would be caught by the ones keeping sentry away from the tree. She shot a look to the side. There were multitudes of trees around her. Of course! If she can't go down, she'll just jump to another branch!

_Schick, schick, shick, schick! K...thunk!_

Too late. The wolves had apparently read the creature's mind. The four sentries had bounced up from the ground and tore off the nearest tree branches above them with their blade-like horns, cutting off all routes of escape for the trapped Nekomata. One of the wolves slammed its claws on top of one of the branches and sneered up at the captive cat.

"Unyaa..."

What a truly hopeless situation. The Nekomata whimpered in fear as it clutched the wounds on its body. Fresh blood kept flowing out of her wounds, leaving small puddles of blood on the grass below. One of the wolves trotted forward and licked up a smattering of blood. It growled and glanced upwards. The white fur lining the wolf's mouth was stained bright red. The Nekomata shuddered at the sight of her own blood being consumed.

One of the wolves was becoming increasingly impatient, patrolling around the base of the tree and pawing at the bark. It growled and leapt up and tried to scrabble it's way up the trunk with it's claws. Luckily, it only managed to reach halfway up before losing it's grip and sliding off, taking a huge chunk of wood with it. It landed on it's back with a hard thud, giving off a small yelp of surprise.

"Nya!" Taking this chance, the Nekomata jumped off the branch. While in midair, she bent her two legs inwards, pointing her knees downward, directly at the fallen wolf. With a sickeningly crack, her two powerful knees drilled straight into the wolf's chest, cracking a rib or two and knocking it unconscious. Leaping off the fallen wolf, the Nekomata glanced around at the wolves around her.

There was another option. Fight back as hard as she could!

One wolf, incensed at the sight of it's fallen comrade, pounced at the Nekomata with it's claws outstretched and fangs bared. The wounded Nekomata swung around and avoided the wolf's front, swerving around to it's side. There, she reeled in her fist and planted a powerful punch on the wolf's side. Her efforts were rewarded with a pained whine, and another unconscious wolf.

The remaining wolves growled menacingly. Two of their number were taken down, but there was still four left! One wolf stepped forward and barked orders to the others, who quickly nodded and dashed forwards, intent on ganging up on the single Nekomata.

A little hesitant, the Nekomata backed up until her back hit the tree. She assessed the situation. Sure, she had managed to take out two, but can she handle fighting four at the same time? She shook her head wildly, then focused her gaze forward. Her nervousness was replaced by determination. She held up her two white paws and clenched them. With a powerful cry, she charged straight into the fray.

* * *

In the same forest, a few hours later. Sunlight was beginning to peek through the thick leaves that covered the top of the trees. The chirping of birds could be heard, signaling the beginning of a new day. Little droplets of dew had formed on the blades of grass below, glistening in the rays of light like little gems.

Splish, splish, splish. Rozha was walking through the forest, whistling a tuneless melody to himself. His footsteps were smashing the grass and scattering the watery dew away like tiny marbles. In his left hand, he carried a paper map, which he kept glancing at every few seconds. In his right, he was holding onto the hilt of a long sword.

He had medium length, light colored hair, which he kept out of his eyes by wearing a dark blue headband on his forehead. His torso was covered by a tight undershirt. He wore a pair of baggy pants that had definitely seen better days, judging by all the holes and rips on the fabric along with a bunch of hastily patched holes and sewing. Even his sword was in a terrible shape. The edge was dull and missing quite a few chunks of metal. What little metal there were was covered in rust.

Rozha, the drifter. The wanderer. A vagrant with no destination.

He stopped walking and gazed at the multitudes of trees around him, taking in the sights. With a great sigh, he smiled widely and dropped both his sword and map beside him, then let his body collapse onto the soft grass below. Stretching out on the ground, he yawned and crossed his arms behind his head.

"It looks like I've finally made it," he muttered to himself, "Blair Forest. It's been a long time."

His two travel-worn legs were aching like mad, but the realization that he had finally reached his destination brushed the pain out of his mind. The guy had been walking for weeks, months even, to reach his destination. It had been a very harrowing and life-threatening trip for the man. He had suffered multiple burns while traversing the lava-filled Sea of Gehenna, captured by a Succubus in the frozen capital Jotunheim, and was trapped within a Geo Maze for days after accidentally pissing off a particularly vengeful Geo Master.

Now, he has found himself smack dab in the middle of one of the largest forests in the Netherworld, Blair Forest. A frightening place, well known for being the home of many dangerous and powerful beasts. The vast thickets of trees are patrolled and protected by gigantic tree golems, many of which would crush your bones into dust if they ever saw you. In addition to that, the forest is also the location of the Netherworld's famous bottomless water pools.

Needless to say, it isn't a very safe place.

But then again, this is the Netherworld we're talking about here. A land of unfairness, cruelty, and the occasional death or two.

Rozha let his tired body rest on the ground for a few minutes. He rolled over and closed his eyes.

_ Gurgle._

His eyes shot open instantly at the strange sound. He pulled himself up and glanced down at his bare stomach. As if on cue, it gurgled again.

"Aaah...I'm hungry..." Disgruntled, Rozha stood up from his restful position. He dusted himself off and scanned the surroundings for anything that looked edible. His own food supply had been exhausted long ago.

Unfortunately for him, the clearing had nothing that looked remotely like a meal to him. Rozha grumbled and picked up his sword and a flat rock from the ground.

_Looks like I have to go hunting..._ He thought to himself as he began to whet the sword's edge with the rock,_ Well, I remember that there are a lot of monsters living in this place. It shouldn't be too hard to catch something to eat..._

Throwing aside the rock, he trudged toward the bushes and cut apart the brambles and leaves with a wide swipe from his sword. Alternating between cutting apart the foliage and moving forward, Rozha allowed himself deeper into the forest.

"Hm...?" A sudden movement in front of him made him stop in his tracks. Quickly and silently, he ducked behind a nearby tree and peeked out at the moving thing.

It was a Mystic Beast, a wolf-like creature that is said to be borne from the winds itself. This specific wolf, however, looked as though it has seen better days. It was limping and it was panting rather heavily. The sharp, blade-like horn on its forehead was cracked into two pieces and it looked as though someone had smashed in his nose with a sledgehammer. Angry red bruises protruded all over the wolf's body, giving it the appearance of a beast that had just came out of a punching match. And lost.

To Rozha however, this was a great chance. Not only did he find something to eat, it was tired and pre-injured as well! What an easy catch! He tucked himself behind the rock and readied his sword. Once it was near enough, he'll surprise it and catch it. He licked his lips in anticipation.

_Just a bit more...come on... _

Weakly, the wolf took one more step and...

Collapsed. Its leg lost all of its strength and crumpled underneath the wolf, bringing the rest of its body down with it.

"...eh?" Rozha, surprised at what had just happened, came out from behind the rock and nudged the unmoving wolf's body with the tip of his blade. It didn't respond. Rozha grinned.

"Well, lucky me!"

* * *

"Unngh...nyaaa..." The Nekomata awakened in the middle of the clearing. Her body was covered in mud and dried blood. Her wounds, although they had stopped bleeding, were still aching painfully.

Uncomfortably, she managed to pull herself up into an upright position. Taking care to not place any weight on her injuries, she gingerly tried to lay her bottom down onto the dirt. _Thump!_ Her tired arms gave out from beneath her, and she fell onto her chest, and into the dirt.

"Nya!" She coughed, spitting a chunk of soil out of her mouth. She scowled unhappily and struggled to push herself back up. Her body, however, appeared to prefer the soft ground and refused to budge. Her two limbs laid at her sides like two unmoving logs.

She rotated her head so that it was no longer facing the ground. She scanned around her surroundings. The sun had risen, and light was beginning to stream through the thick foliage above her. All the wolves that were chasing her yesterday were gone. The only evidence that a battle had been fought were stray splatters of blood and damaged tree trunks.

The Nekomata breathed a sigh of relief. She had somehow managed to fend off an entire pack of hungry wolves, and lived to tell the tale. Despite the fact that her body was still covered from head to toe in cuts and wounds, she felt as though she was 100 percent healthy. Her elation at the prospect of being alive must've numbed her pain.

She rolled over onto her back and tried to lift her arms again. A small amount of energy seemed to have returned to her body, as she managed to lift her right arm above her chest. Which promptly fell down and bounced off her bosom.

"Ung-nya!" The Nekomata exclaimed in surprise and doubled over. She thrashed around on the ground, clutching her chest in pain. It appears as though her wounds haven't completely healed yet. Her wild rolling eventually led to a head-on collision with a nearby tree and her head.

Seeing stars, she picked up her upper body and clutched the back of her head with her paws. After spending a few minutes coping with a new source of pain, she rubbed her tears away and stood up.

After taking another cautionary scan around her, she began to slowly tread towards the edge of the clearing. She had no particular destination in mind, but a single pressing matter was beginning to emerge from within herself.

_ Gurgle._

"Nya..." She covered her belly with her two fluffy paws. Thinking back, she had not eaten anything at all since last night. She paced around the clearing a bit, looking for anything that looked edible. Unfortunately, the only thing she could find was a clump of rather unappetizing-looking mushrooms and the even-more unappetizing wolf corpses lying around the clearing.

"Nyahh..." She wrinkled her nose at the noxious odor that was beginning to emanate from the rotting corpses. She covered her face with one of her big paws and moved away from the clearing and towards the thicket of trees. Maybe there's something more tasteful elsewhere in the forest. In any case, she reasoned, anywhere is better than here.

"That should be enough." Dropping an armload of dry leaves and tiny branches, Rozha knelt down in front of a crudely constructed cooking spit. He nudged his pile of foliage underneath his sword-which was taking the place of the spit-and tore off a piece of his headband. He laid the faded fabric on top of the pile of leaves.

"Now for the meat," Rozha took his sword off the cheap rotisserie and turned around. The wolf-now nothing more than an unrecognizable lump of meat-was laid on top of his shirt. He took his sword and skewered the meat with a single thrust, creating something that vaguely resembles a shish-kabob, only excessively oversized. He plunked the monstrosity of a roast on top of the barbecue, where it sagged slightly from the weight.

Then, he held his fist over the scrap of fabric he placed and closed his eyes. He began to concentrate deeply, mentally controlling the flow of mana inside him, and directing it towards his outstretched hand. Slowly, a red glow started to emit from the inside of his hand, intensifying in brightness every second. Once the light was bright enough to light up a small closet, Rozha opened his eyes and opened up his fist. A bright burst of light exploded from his palm, and a small fire erupted from the torn fabric. In less than a second, the fire greedily consumed the entire pile of foliage, heating up the hanging meat above.

"That was convenient," Rozha wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, "I have to remember to thank Gunther when I get back. It was worth it having him teach me some rudimentary magic before I left. I wonder if he'll be surprised if I go visit him?"

Rozha smiled as he began to imagine the little Skull's expression. He slowly rotated his sword over the fire, roasting the meat over the fire. After a few minutes of continued roasting, a delicious scent began to emerge from the meat, filling the clearing with a mouth-watering aroma.

* * *

Her head suddenly snapped upwards. A particularly delectable scent suddenly caught her nose's attention. She closed her eyes and began to follow the trail through the trees and bushes. The smell was irresistible, she felt as though someone was holding her by the chin and slowly pulling her towards it. The more she moved, the more intoxicating the aroma became.

Eventually, she reached the edge of another clearing. Ducking down beneath a bush, she pushed apart a few brambles and peered into the field. There was a fire, and a slab of meat was hovering above it. An unknown man was there, spinning the meat as it was being cooked. She didn't know who the man was, nor did she particularly care. The meat on the spit was the only thing that was on her mind. She quietly moved back from the bush and stealthily began to circle around the clearing, trying to get to a spot that was closer to the meat.

She darted behind a tree and peeked out. The meat spit was right in between her and the cook. The smell was becoming stronger and stronger and it was making her stomach growl in anticipation. Saliva was beginning to escape from the ends of her mouth. She placed her furry paw on her stomach and wiped her mouth with the other. All she could do now is wait for the man to be distracted and then she can steal it!

She continued to wait, biding her time until her chance appeared.

* * *

Rozha yawned. Cooking that meat had taken longer than he thought. His stomach was already beginning to rebel against him as he continued his dull task of spinning the spit. He clutched his stomach and gritted his teeth.

"If this was back at Gehenna, I would've just plunked this stupid thing into the lava and it'll be done in a snap!" Rozha grumbled, "Dammit, why the hell is Mystic Beast meat so tough to cook?"

Frustrated, the warrior pulled the meat off the stand and held it up to take a better look at how much it had been cooked.

In that instant, three things happened. One, the campfire had been extinguished by a sudden gust of wind. Two, a blue blur raced across the field at lightning speed. Three, the meat had vanished from his sword.

"What the-?" Rozha was knocked back by a sudden blow to his gut. His body skidded back a few feet before he fell over onto his back. After a few seconds of dizziness, he regained his composure and pulled himself back onto his feet. He took a few clumsy steps forward before taking a glance at who attacked him.

"Who the hell are you?" Shouted Rozha. He pointed his sword at the blue cat, who had the entire chunk of meat firmly grasped within her furry paw. Her other paw was balled up into a fist. Rozha took another step forward, keeping his sword pointed at the cat, "Hands off the meat, furball. Don't make me have to use this against you."

"Nya!" The cat ignored the threat and instead, took a large bite out of the meat.

"Okay, that's it. You asked for it."

Seething, Rozha raced towards the tree that the cat was standing on and swung his sword at a lightning speed. The blade, as dull as it is, cleaved through the wooden tree trunk as though it was made of cloth.

"...n-nya-?" The tree began to tilt ominously, alerting the nekomata away from her meal. She glanced down from the tree branch.

"Nyaaaa!"

The tree had been cut diagonally, and was now beginning to separate. The top half of the tree was sliding down towards the ground, wobbling dangerously with every inch. The nekomata quickly leapt off the capsizing tree.

"Gotcha!" Rozha jumped up and swung his sword at the cat in midair. Panicking, the nekomata held the chunk of meat in front of her like a shield. Unfortunately, the sword simply cut the meat in two, but it had managed change the direction of the slash somewhat, allowing the nekomata to move her body away from the weapon.

However, the sudden movement had forced the nekomata to let go of the meat. Both chunks of delicious roast flew out of her hand and began to fall towards the ground.

Rozha, not wanting his hard work to be dirtied, threw his sword at the chunks. The sword speared through both chunks in midair, and landed point first in the dirt. He gave a sigh of relief, which was quickly replaced by a grunt of pain as a fur-covered fist planted itself straight into his gut.

"Gaaaah!" Rozha few away from the nekomata and crashed into another nearby tree. The nekomata landed safely on the ground as the felled tree behind her crashed spectacularly into the thicket. She picked up the meat-kabob and opened her mouth wide to take in another bite.

Blood sprayed from the inside her gaping mouth and onto the surface of the meat, staining it a bright red. Trembling, she dropped the sword and fell down onto her knees. Her pupils dilated as she saw her arms. The scars on her flesh had reopened from the exertion, and was beginning to bleed again. She clutched her abdomen as another torrent of fresh blood escaped her throat.

"Kuh-ya...ny..." She grunted with pain and collapsed onto the ground, unmoving.

Rozha, still dazed from the collision with the tree, picked himself up from the ground unsteadily. He held his head with his hand and forcibly shook himself back awake. Despite his eyesight still being slightly blurry, he took a fighting stance and stumbled over to where the cat last was. He was determined to fight back for his food. His stomach demands it!

He took another step, crossing the now-extinguished campfire he made.

_Splish._

"...what the?" He rubbed his eyes and lifted up the bottom of his foot. It was caked in a thick, red liquid. He had stepped into a large puddle of blood. His eyes trailed towards the source and saw the nekomata. It was lying down on the dirt, blood was practically pouring out of its body like a broken pipe. Her eyes were closed and her body was completely still.

"Hey, hey!" His fighting spirit from before had completely dissipated. He rushed over to the bleeding cat's side and lifted up her body. She didn't react. He pulled her chest up and, with no hesitance, planted the side of his head right into her chest. _Thump...thump..._

There was a heartbeat. Faint, but it was there.

"She's still alive." He gave a sigh of relief, "But how in the world did she get all these wounds? And she was fighting me like that too..."

He shook his head, "Dammit, what am I doing? I have to get her to some help, and fast!"

He picked her up into his arms and stood up. She was a lot lighter than she looked. Rozha grabbed his sword off the ground and swung the two pieces of meat off it with a single swipe. After tucking the blade into his belt, he dashed off into the depths of the forest.

"Just hang on okay? I know a place that can help you!"


End file.
